Quite a long read, but a really good one. Using archaeological and ethnological evidence, debunks the theory that the move to institutionalised hierarchy is a necessary part of the shift from “roving bands” to tribes to cities. Egalitarianism has been shown to scale in the past. I never realised there were societies whose whole structure was seasonal.

Juicy quote: “Jared Diamond notwithstanding, there is absolutely no evidence that top-down structures of rule are the necessary consequence of large-scale organization. Walter Scheidel notwithstanding, it is simply not true that ruling classes, once established, cannot be gotten rid of except by general catastrophe.”

A startling tome, here in a free PDF, that offers a rather absolutist perspective on how humanity needs to shed its attachment and addiction to authority. I’m still only 2/3 of the way through it. Key “aha!” for me has been the difference between prudence and morality.

“Levine shows that the military and Silicon Valley are effectively inseparable: a military-digital complex that permeates everything connected to the internet, even coopting and weaponizing the antigovernment privacy movement that sprang up in the wake of Edward Snowden.”

Your permission is being abused, and this may well be by design. Each permission can readily result in data leakage you would not knowingly consent to. The table under “Permissions that access user information” is worth a look.

“This extension helps you control more of your web activity from Facebook by isolating your identity into a separate container. This makes it harder for Facebook to track your activity on other websites via third-party cookies.”

“As Reuters reports, people who would be put on the restricted lists included those found to have committed acts like spreading false information about terrorism and causing trouble on flights, as well as those who used expired tickets or smoked on trains, according to two statements issued on the National Development and Reform Commission’s website on Friday.”

“Data is no less a form of common property than oil or soil or copper. We make data together, and we make it meaningful together, but its value is currently captured by the companies that own it. We find ourselves in the position of a colonized country, our resources extracted to fill faraway pockets.”

A (possibly naive and misguided) call for nations to have mission statements: “It is time to establish that our society exists to maximize human well-being.” The table of contents is a possible “ingredients list” for any evaluating the impact of the choices made on our behalf by any (automated) system.

“Once you share information with someone, you lose control over how that information is protected and used. You cannot assert your privacy rights when your friend’s phone is searched and the police see the messages that you sent to your friend. Same goes for sharing information with the deceased — after you released information to the deceased, you have lost control of privacy.”

“Much like the Hippocratic Oath defines Do No Harm for the medical profession, the data science community must have a set of principles to guide and hold each other accountable as data science professionals. To collectively understand the difference between helpful and harmful. To guide and push each other in putting responsible behaviors into practice. And to help empower the masses rather than to disenfranchise them.”

“Above all, I understand that I am the gatekeeper; placing greater concern in the consequences of the technology I build over that of obeying authority. If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and my craft, respected while I live and remembered with esteem thereafter.”

Doesn’t Common Law already cover all of this? Or do we need additional institutions, much like engineering has accumulated for other edifices?

“Take France for example, they passed a law in 2015 banning WiFi from all nursery schools. In addition to that, the law states that Wi-Fi must be turned off in all elementary schools when it’s not in use. … It’s not just a concern for children, the French National Library and many others in Paris, along with several universities, have completely removed all Wi-Fi networks, and it’s also banned in many municipal buildings.”

We tend to think about data, privacy, and choices made by software, but the hardware itself also comes with risks that are hard to quantify.

“Algorithms also make mistakes because they pick up on features of the environment that are correlated with outcomes, even when there is no causal relationship between them. In the algorithmic world, this is called overfitting. When this happens in a brain, we call it superstition.”

“As cities impounded derelict bikes by the thousands, they moved quickly to cap growth and regulate the industry. Vast piles of impounded, abandoned, and broken bicycles have become a familiar sight in many big cities.” — As well as some eye-popping pictures, a possibly cautionary tale on how socially-minded endeavours, even (especially!) when privately funded and operated, can go awry.

“What’s clear here is that Microsoft is reserving the right to cancel your account whenever they feel like it. They do nothing to define “offensive language” (or “graphic violence,” for that matter) and in 2018 when anyone can be offended by anything, these terms allow Microsoft staff to play unrestrained censor if and when they choose.”

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I am an expert on the telecommunications business. I help senior executives to make sense of what is happening, anticipate what is coming, and to act decisively in the face of uncertainty. My long-term professional goal is to facilitate three paradigm shifts: for data networking to become a true science; for voice to evolve its own native form of hypermedia; and for cloud-based enterprises to have the most efficient and effective possible means to communicate with their customers - Martin Geddes. Contact us here